Building Industry Leaders Forum Mine is Smaller than Yours or is it?

1. Building Industry Leaders ForumMine is Smaller than Yours or is it? David Sharp

2. BPIC.ASN.AU

3. BPIC.ASN.AU The Council’s prime objective is to provide unified and coordinated representation of the building products industry to Government and regulators while providing a forum for discussion and information sharing between manufacturers.

4. The problem

5. Sustainability – BuzzWords • Reused, Recycled, Recycled Content, Recyclable • Carbon Neutral • Natural, Renewable • Locally sourced • Low ecological impact • Low embodied energy • Chemical Free • Dolphin Friendly • Neighbours will like you

6. Whats’ Wrong with These? • Single issue measures: • Easy to measure • Easy to explain • Easy concepts to sell • Often gives the wrong answer for the environment Complexity of LCA IS needed

7. Green Star credits forMaterials & Products

8. Green Star credits forMaterials & Products • Single issue measures: • Well intentioned BUT • Perverse outcomes – often more damaging to the environment

9. Green Star credits forMaterials & Products • Single issue measures: • Well intentioned BUT • Perverse outcomes – often more damaging to the environment NEED Life Cycle Assessment

10. LCA is the answer

11. But What is LCA/LCI? • Life Cycle Assessment – LCA – the assessment of the environmental impacts of a product or service over its full life cycle. (Jigsaw Puzzle) • Life Cycle Inventory – LCI – the first stage in conducting a life cycle assessment. (A Jigsaw Puzzle Piece)

12. But What is LCA/LCI? Nothing to do with Life Cycle Cost – LCC Assessing the costs and benefits of a product or service over its life-cycle • Life Cycle Assessment – LCA – the assessment of the environmental impacts of a product or service over its full life cycle. (Jigsaw Puzzle) • Life Cycle Inventory – LCI – the first stage in conducting a life cycle assessment. (A Jigsaw Puzzle Piece)

13. But What is LCA/LCI? Nothing to do with Life Cycle Cost – LCC Assessing the costs and benefits of a product or service over its life-cycle But should share: - Same life of each product/service - Same replacement interval for components - Same maintenance assumptions • Life Cycle Assessment – LCA – the assessment of the environmental impacts of a product or service over its full life cycle. (Jigsaw Puzzle) • Life Cycle Inventory – LCI – the first stage in conducting a life cycle assessment. (A Jigsaw Puzzle Piece)

14. LCA of a Glass Soda lime production Detergents Landfill Glass production Yes Manufacture Transport Recycling Sand extraction Breakage? Packaging No Salt electrolysis Chlorine Use Cleaning Transport PVC Water heating Diesel oil Bitumen Electricity generation Gas distribution Polythene Oil refining Water transmission Cracking Fuel ash to cement production Oil and gas extraction Water extraction Coal mining Naptha

15. BPIC ICIP Project • Building Products Innovation Council and 10 Contributing Members: • with: • Australian Life Cycle Assessment Society (ALCAS) • BRANZ • Contractors • CSIRO In partnership with • Department of Innovation, Science, Industry and Research

16. The world is complex.

17. AusLCI

18. Unit Processes Process Product Raw Materials Co-product Energy Waste & Pollution Air emissions Water discharges Solid waste Water Products

19. Unit Processes Process Product Raw Materials Co-product Measure all the Inputs and Outputs - Inventory Energy Waste & Pollution Air emissions Water discharges Solid waste Water Products

20. Typical LCA categories Use of energy and water (MJ, ML) Global warming potential (kg CO2 - equiv.) Eutrophication potential (kg PO43- - equiv.) Photochemical oxidant formation potential (kg C2H2-equiv.) Human toxicity potential (kg DCB-equiv.) Terrestrial ecotoxicity potential (kg DCB-equiv.) 20

21. Project Plan

22. Current Emphasis • Methodology – Agreement on Boundaries, Scope, Age of Data etc +. • Protocol – How the Data should be used • Weightings Workshops – what’s important and how should it be weighted based on location

23. BPIC ICIP Outcomes • A consistent "level playing field" methodology for use in building materials and products Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) • An extensive database of LCI data for Australian building materials and products all compiled in accordance with the • A database of replacement lives for materials, products and elements of construction used in Australian buildings. • An LCA Protocol that will describe how the LCI data should be used in for example, LCA Design Tools

24. What’s Happening NowExamples • UK Code for Sustainable Homes • LCA Design • Good Environmental Choice • Ecospecifier

25. UK Code for Sustainable Homesas from 1 May 2008 • Energy Efficiency • Water Efficiency • Surface Water Management • Household Waste Management • Use of Materials • Lifestyle Homes

26. LCA Design™ LCA Design Materials take-off Assign LCI/LCA data Repair, Maintenance Operational energy & water Calculates Inventory Impact Assessment Classification Characterisation Normalisation Weighting 3D CAD Design refinement

27. Good Environmental Choice

28. Ecospecifier

29. Conclusion • Currently Green Building Rating Tools , assess materials impacts poorly • Need for an LCA based assessment of materials, products and building systems • Compiling a Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) is the first step in compiling an LCA – it takes many LCI’s added together to make an LCA • Need a consistent “level playing field” basis for LCA in Australia • BPIC/ICIP Project aims to provide this for building materials and products • This Project will provide the basis for LCA based design and assessment tools • The method should be used for all environmental assessments including Carbon accounting .